Meet Jess and Ryan. This beautiful couple recently wed in the countryside and planned a very eco-friendly wedding. We had a virtual sit-down with them to discuss how exactly you go about planning a vegan and sustainable wedding like this.
What made you want to hold an eco-friendly vegan and sustainable wedding?
Jess: I’m vegan myself, as is my immediate family, so I guess it was a pretty easy decision for me. I’m vegan for several reasons, one being the animal cruelty issues, two being the environmental impact of animal farming, and finally the health benefits that come with eating a whole food plant based diet. Ryan who is a self confessed “meat-atarian” understood how important it was for me to serve a vegan menu so it really didn’t take much arm twisting to have him on board (he’s pretty wonderful like that)!
The sustainable side was just a natural progression – we live in the city but we both grew up in the country and we liked the idea of giving new life to old things and recycling where we could rather than use brand new. I think having our wedding in the country really lent itself to this too as it allowed our vintage shabby-chic look to really add to the modern garden party theme!
What things did you do to make your wedding sustainable?
We tried where we could to look for alternatives to buying new, and ways to recycle or use what we already had. An example of this is the crystal garlands I made for the arbour – we used fishing wire and tools we already had and only purchased the beads.
Some of the other things we did to try and be sustainable were:
- Used recycled paper for fans, straws, and stationery
- Constructed ceremony benches/seating and the timber signage from recycled pallets
- Made a conscious decision to hire from local companies
- We purchased our napkins from a laundry business that was closing down, which we then gave to our wedding venue
- Recycled old books and coffee jars and turned them into our centrepieces
- Used local and in-season produce for the meal
- Found eco friendly candles
- Used Brisbane’s Freecycle website to collect different items that we used for decorations
- Went to Ikea’s “as is” section and up-cycled old cupboard doors as part of the decorations
- Our amazing florist (Kelly from Bella Bloom Floral Designs) even unknowingly contributed by adding flowers from her own garden
- Purchased conflict free wedding rings
- Hand-made table-runners, paper pompoms, personalised bonbonnieres
- Used a fallen tree from my parents property to make the stumps for the aisle (which our wedding venue will use over winter for their fire pit) and candle holders for the tables
Taking meat and dairy off the menu is a big move! Did you have any criticism over this?
Yes and no… when we very first talked about it with certain members of the family we were definitely met with a little hostility and abruptness, however we stuck to our guns, and I think once we explained that this was important to us and why, they slowly came round. I also made it clear that the wedding was about far more than the food, it’s about celebrating our love of each other and who we are as individuals and a couple, and that veganism was a big part of this. If the vegan meal – one out of thousands our guest would eat in their lives was going to be a major problem then maybe they were missing the point of the wedding. On a whole we were actually met with a LOT of support.
How did you set about to find vegan caterers?
When we were looking at venues one of the first questions was “can you provide a vegan menu?” Rob and Marina from The Bunyip Scenic Rim Resort were fantastic; they really embraced the idea and even gave us free reign with the menu. We had such a hard time narrowing down our meal choices that we went from having an alternate drop to a buffet! In the weeks leading up to the wedding they even purchased all the books the recipes had come from and gave every dish a trial run until they were completely happy with it!
What feedback have you received from guests in attendance?
We’ve had such a good response! We’ve had so many requests from different guests for the recipes for certain dishes we served that I’ll be putting together a mini electronic recipe book to send our guests as a little keepsake. Everything was so well received that the venue has added a few of the recipes to their regular menu.
The decorations went down a treat too with practically all the tree stump candle holders and many of the recycled coffee jars finishing the night with new homes. The other great thing is the benches and timber signs Ryan made have been borrowed already for a family friends daughter’s wedding so there is even more reusing/recycling going on!
What tips would you have for others wanting to go down this route?
Embrace it! There are a million ways to make your day unique, while sustainable. How far you take it is entirely up to you – but any way is a good way! A wedding day is meant to be a really positive day – why not take the positivity to a whole new level and do something happy for the environment too. There are so many resources and ideas on the web that can take the thinking and stress out of it, inspire you and help make it really fun!
Images by Vellum Studios
I am on a mission to make our youngest daughters wedding as Eco friendly as possible. I have been having a terrible time finding glasses to serve punch from, do you mind sharing where you found yours? Thanks so much!
Hi Lollie – thanks for your comment! I am following up with Jess + Ryan to see where they found theirs. In the meantime, sites like Ebay and Etsy often have both glass punch bowls and glass mason jars. Good luck!
Hi Lollie, I heard back from Ryan (groom) who said the glass jars were empty vegemite jars a colleague had given them (and they have already been passed on to another couple for their wedding). Ryan suggested to keep an eye on Gumtree for deals too. All the best!